Gotham executive producer Danny Cannon joined cast members David Mazouz, Camren Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith, Erin Richards, Jessica Lucas, and Drew Powell at the 2017 WonderCon to talk about season three and what fans can expect from their favorite characters. In addition to participating in a panel, the cast and Danny Cannon also took part in roundtable interviews to provide a little more insight into what’s in store.

What can you tease about the remainder of season three?

Danny Cannon: “At the beginning it was about two journeys. I’m sitting down with season four now and I remember this time last year we were like, ‘It’s a metamorphosis season.’ The two people changing the most in season three were Bruce Wayne [David Mazouz] and Edward Nygma [Cory Michael Smith], and they were two actors who’ve just grown. Incredible work they’ve done. Bruce Wayne had to become a man. He had to confront violence; he had to confront his parents’ deaths. He had to confront guilt. And the end of the season you’ll see him being forced to deal with those complex, mature emotions they go through in the same way that Edward Nygma had to confront who he really was and embrace, finally, ‘Now I’m a dark person.’ Just admitting who you really are, what your true human nature is and what makes you an individual is what’s great about all of the DC villains. They’re all people who will not be ignored, will not be forgotten, will not be put down. And finding their voice – that’s a beautiful thing to write.”

Is there one character in particular we should be paying attention to in these upcoming episodes?

Danny Cannon: “I think that the journey that Bruce takes, the mentor that takes Bruce through this journey, has some really good moments with Bruce. It’s like a long, painful therapy session where someone’s forced to confront everything they think makes them tick but actually it’s what’s holding them back. I think we’ve all been that guy. That’s something we can all relate to, in the same way with Nygma being like however bad it is, keeping a lid on somebody you’re destroying that person from the inside out. It’s best to just let that lid off and let them be who it is and deal with the consequences, rather than just [holding it in]. I watched King of Comedy at the beginning of the season with De Niro and he says, ‘Better king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.’ I was like, ‘That’s a great line.’”

What’s the one villain you really want to get for season four and are you worried there may be conflicts with the movies?

Danny Cannon: “That’s the problem. Well, it’s not a problem – it’s a great problem to have that you have a massive company like DC and they want to keep stuff secret from us, too. If you can imagine, I’m like a guy who likes to come to these things. I’m like a fan guy and you’re talking to the head of DC who’s saying to you, ‘Stay away from X,’ and you’re like, ‘Why? What are you doing?!’ It’s a good problem to have but the fact is that they are trying to keep things for them right now, and they’re jumping around all kinds of timelines too. So, it’s kind of messing with everything.

But is there somebody that I really want to get out there? Yeah, there is. There’s a couple. I have a stand-alone episode which I’m dying to write called ‘The Ventriloquist.’ I’m just so fired up for that. I’m so fired to revisit Jonathan Crane, too, because the thing about him is we talked about the origin of the origin. We haven’t talked about his origin yet and that’s coming up. That will be the beginning of season four – where the name comes from and all that stuff. We’ve still got Clayface to do. There’s so much to do.”

Danny Cannon: “No, that was always designed. He has a series of his own and that’s where I met Cameron, as a director. I was working with John Wells and he knew I was a fan of Shameless. I went in and did an episode for them and then when I came back, the minute Gotham started and we talked about this character – he’s going to kill his parents inside a circus – I got the guy. I got him. I know who it is. That’s happened to me twice. I did it with Victor Zsasz, too. I looked at that character and I was like, ‘I’ve got this guy.’ And, it’s great to be right like that. You cast him, the costume goes on, first scene, great. But in that cutting room you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, this is totally my neck on the block.’ And then to watch them just, ‘Boom,’ both of those characters.

The great thing and what actors like about this show, they get to act with their bodies as well. You never see that in other shows. You’ve got heads and shoulders and people speak what they’re feeling. This is a show where a guy could walk into an empty room and you’re interested because he’s personifying something more than we put on the page.”